Pages

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Rome Marathon 2012

Woah, what a crazy and amazing week. My time in Rome went all too
quickly because it was absolutely packed with fun. There's no way I can
possibly recap it all in one post without it being impossibly long, so
I'll split it up into a few posts. Let's start with the whole reason for
trip- the Rome 2012 Marathon!

Nothing in Italy starts
early, so the race start wasn't until 9. I got up at 6:30, changed into
my race clothes, and headed up to breakfast. I usually have nut butter
toast before a long run, and I had come prepared with my own almond
butter, but I didn't think to bring my own toast. Since there was no
toast, I had my Justin's almond butter on digestive biscuits. It was
amazing! And although i was dying for a cappucino, I didn't think the
dairy would be kind to my stomach so I stuck with plain espresso.

Then we headed down the hill to the Colosseum for the race start.
To save my feet we took the metro, which actually didn't save my feet
at all because it was a lot of walking just to get to the train and then
I had to stand on the absolutely packed train. The start line was
insane. This was the biggest race I've ever done by far, there were
13,000 marathoners and 13,000 doing the 4k that started at the same
time. I was totally intimidated.

The organization was pretty terrible. It was hard
to tell where to go and we were forced to walk a long, long way through
miles of crowded fenced in paths to get to the corrals. There also was
no official start, at least not that I could hear. All of a sudden we
were just running.

Amazingly my cousin managed to find me in the crowd and get a picture that I'm kind of visible in. Can you spot me?

The narrow city streets were packed
and the footing on the old cobblestones was very uneven. I realized
pretty quickly that it was not going to be a quick race. So I just
settled in, stuck to my planned 3:1 run walk ratio, and plugged along.
Here are my observations from the race:

-The first time you hear "That's Amore" while looking at the
Colosseum looming over you, you will get totally choked up. By the time
it's played 10 times in a row, it loses emotional power and it just
annoying.

-When the "scenic course" description is followed by warning
about cobblestones and rough roads, it means you'll be too busy looking
at your feet to see most of the scenic course.

-Having oranges and bananas at aid stations instead of gels means
that the 1/4 miles after the station will be a slippery mess of orange
and banana peels.

-Sponge stations are awesome. Every 5k or so there were big tubs
of water filled with sponges. I am grossly sweaty and salty when I run
so it was nice to wipe off the salt cakes so I looked a little more
human. It also felt really cooling. However, don't use the sponge to
moisten your mouth. The water is soapy and your mouth will taste nasty
for the next 5k.

-"Forza", "vai", and "brava" sound way cooler than plain old "Go."

-Way more men than women run in Europe. The race was only 17%
women. Which means the porta potties are nasty and have no toilet paper.
It also means there is pee all over the ground by the start. This is a
problem when the start is also the finish and you want to sit down after
the race.

-European men like to wear little tiny spandex shorts. They also
like to adjust themselves and touch themselves a lot while running.

-The Italian idea of spectating is to stand on the side of the
course smoking and looking at anyone who is sweating like they are
disgusting.

-Sitting at a patio cafe in an Italian square and eating awesome
food is great, if you are one of the people sitting at eating. When
you're at mile 23 of a marathon and hungry and tired, you really hate
those people.

-St. Peters and the Vatican is breath taking on an ordinary day.
At mile 18 when it's shining in the sun at the end of a long open avenue
and you're getting a little loopy, it will make you cry.

I
don't know if it was the slower pace, or that I was well trained, but I
felt good. I saw the mile 20 sign and literally did a little kick, to
kick down the wall. I never hit it.

My host fam got a shot of me around mile 13

My legs never totally locked
up. Sure I was tired, my feet hurt, my hip was a little sore, but I
always had the feeling that I was okay, that I could finish. And then I
was climbing the last little hill past the Circus Maximus where my
cousin and Dutch host family were waiting. They were the push I needed
to get up and over. I coasted down the small hill to the Colosseum and
then I was across the finish line. My finish time was 4:35 which is 20
minutes slower than my PR. I was a little disappointed, but one thing I
learned from the people on my Antarctica trip last year is that doing
the 7 continents isn't about being fast. It's about enjoying the
experiences and being good to your body.

I collected my medal, which I love. It's a bronze abstract model of the Colosseum.

I
got my blanket and fought the crowd to get my food bag (a lousy apple
and bottle of water.) I stumbled my way over a grassy area and laid down
with my feet in the air. I thought that was pretty good, but then a
cute Italian guy offered to rub my feet. Um okay. I didn't even care
that I was smelly and sweaty. After we rubbed my feet, he rubbed my legs
and back too. Thank you cute Italian stallion!

The finish area was a complete zoo and since I was phoneless I
gave up on finding my cousin and host family and was just going to walk
back to the hotel alone, since that was our back-up plan. But then I
walked around a corner and there they were!

The hugged me even though I was icky

It's just so nice to have people cheering for you during a race and waiting at the end. Luckily I was feeling good because I had no other way to get back to the hotel other than to walk the 1.5 miles back up the hill. I did use the microscopic elevator at the hotel though- 5 flights of stairs weren't happening!

After a shower and some stretching I didn't want to waste my last night in Italy lying on bed so we headed back out. First, a wonderful cold glass of bubbly prosecco at an outdoor cafe by Santa Maria Maggiore. Then a huge lovely bowl of fresh pasta with truffles. Paradise.

3 comments:

Just saw your post on Losing Weight in the City. Totally intrigued by your travel running! I want to read through some of your old posts now! One of my goals is to run an international marathon! Any suggestions?! :) Hope we can connect. I have a blog at sweetlifeericka.com!

Hi! I just saw your comment on Losing Weigh in the City (as well!). I lived in Rome for 7 mos and was intrigued that you mentioned you ran the Rome Marathon. I loved reading about it, especially the differences... the spectators, the cobblestone. I would like to run this marathon some day!

Hi! I'm Kiersten, a 29 year old from Maine. Follow me as I try to run a marathon on all 7 continents. But running isn't my whole life- I am also a triathlete, skier, homeowner, musician, foodie, and general enjoyer of life. So, you'll find a little bit of everything here. And if there is something you think is missing, just let me know!